How do I pray for a bombing that happened thousands of miles away in Kenya? This question instantly popped into my head when we received word of the Kenyan referendum bombing. How can I—one person who has no connection to that part of the world—pray for the people there?

It’s a question that I needed to address before I could hope to have any positive effect on the situation in Kenya. This is something I always struggle with, whether it is a war, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or something else that tries to influence the way I’m thinking about the world. I am too small to have any power to change something greater than myself, right? (more…)

I got a FarmVille farm on Facebook because I wanted to help out my father-in-law. I just think it’s cool that he’s 85 years old, playing games on Facebook. But then I got hooked. I like the organization of it. I like grouping the animals , trees, and crops together…and the competitive side of me likes moving up the levels. I’m a Super Shoveler now and well on my way to becoming a Super Grower! (more…)

What I remember about seventh grade is finding myself in a new school about five times as big as I’d ever known—I was stumped by algebra, and the girl who wanted to help me get through that class was my only friend. Neither of us were cool, and she didn’t care, but I longed to be accepted by the in-crowd. But every attempt to connect with them ended up in some awful embarrassment. It was a painful time of learning how to make friends and how to be a friend.

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Als ich letzten wieder mal am Flughafen war, sah ich all die Schilder, die vor der Schweinegrippe warnen. Und was man Alles tun muss um sich zu schützen.

Soviel Angst und Furcht steckt dahinter. Ich dachte kurz darüber nach wie stark diese Furcht und Angst die Gedanken der Menschen beeinflussen wollen. Gleichzeitig dachte ich darüber nach, wie man sich vor dieser angsterfüllten Beeinflussung frei halten kann. Ein Wortspiel half mir dabei. Schweinegrippe ( swine flu) = Schweineinfluenza ( swine influenza)= Influence =der Einfluss, Beeinflussen (Influence). (more…)

For many Filipinos, the day typhoon Ketsana hit was memorable.  Everyone remembers where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with.  Although it has already been three weeks since the storm hit, some parts of Metro Manila are still flooded in knee-high waters that may not recede until December. Ketsana was immediately followed by Parma, though bypassed Manila and hit the provinces of northern Luzon instead.  This category-5 typhoon caused a lot of landslides in Baguio and its neighboring areas. (more…)

How are an instantaneous healing of a cold and being blamed for a mistake at work connected? Here’s the story.

I was accused of leaking confidential information about a work project. I hadn’t done it—and my supervisor knew it—so it didn’t bother me when someone in upper management pointed the finger at me. I wasn’t mad, though I was a bit puzzled. Why would someone who I’d never spoken to assume that I’d done something wrong without even checking out the facts? I remember thinking how her assumption didn’t say anything about me or my work ethic, but it did say something about her.

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by Catherine Trevor-Roberts

As the world continues to focus on how terrible the economy is, I find myself looking for ways to perceive more of what is actually true about God’s abundance. The picture of lack that is continually set before us is not one we have to accept.

Yet, as I listen to what is being said, I wonder how I, or any one person, can prove God’s allness. I know He is all, all powerful, all loving, all goodness, all supply. So, how do I help others see that God is all this, and that there is no lack?

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by Emily

Hey, my name is Emily, and I am interning at The Mother Church here in Boston. I spent the other day wallowing in self-pity and I felt completely justified in my anger and hurt. My friend had abandoned me to brave Boston, a new city to me, on my own, the 14-hour days of commuting and work and such weren’t giving me any time or energy to do any exploring, and I missed my friends and family. (more…)

by Channing (“Cha Cha”) – Christian Science Sentinel, July 20-26, 2009

One time I went sailing with my friends and family. We went out to the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. In a cove, on the tip of Santa Rosa Island, we dropped anchor and jumped into the water.

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by Kim C. Korinek

Have you ever approached your meditation time or spiritual study time feeling that this was getting old? Or read sacred writings and felt that you weren’t getting anything out of them?

I was talking over these kinds of questions with a friend of mine who, in my estimation, is a brilliant designer. We had just finished talking about home design (her specialty), and I was amazed at how quickly she could draw conclusions as to harmonizing color, balancing mass, determining a focal point, and incorporating green systems so that they would all synergistically come together in a development called home. The overall effect was not about window size or trim color (although those were components), but it was about creating a home in which people feel, well, at home.

What was it about this creative process that was so energizing, surprising, and satisfying? How can we apply these principles to our prayer? (more…)